


Screw Off, Hawk Moth

by booabug (allthisink)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Comedy, Gen, Two Shot, given my allergy to angst this is the closest I'll come to writing Miss Fortune or Chat Blanc, this is silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-14 07:10:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7158974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthisink/pseuds/booabug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Get your stupid butterfly out of my bag."</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [Crossposted to Tumblr.](http://booabug.tumblr.com/post/145720974808/screw-off-hawk-moth)

Marinette sat miserably in her pile of fabrics, the fabrics she had saved up her allowance and pay for bakery help for so long, the fabrics that fallen through the paper bag and was now being completely drenched by dirty gutter water. It had broken her fall, but she would have preferred gashes and scrapes to this.  
  
All because of Chloé. She was long gone now, her and Sabrina having walked past with grating giggles after tripping Marinette. She had been too shocked to even retaliate.  
  
Gathering up her ruined purchases, Marinette felt cold water running down her arms, soaking into her blazer, and hot tears running down her face. Through blurred vision, she just saw the akuma enter the ruined paper bag and turn it a sickening whorl of purple against black. The overwhelming cloud of anger and hurt and despair turned into a storm. It felt like the opposite of when Tikki transformed her.  
  
"Miss Fortune, I am Hawk Moth," a silky, paternal voice echoed in her mind. This was the voice of a man who could sell snow in the Antarctic. "I am inviting you to take the trip of your life and make your enemies fall. I simply ask you do me a favour in return: bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous."  
  
Chloé. The spoiled brat, born with a silver spoon in her mouth, who always got what she wanted. She should feel the misery she brought others. She should receive the retribution she had never got, and no amount of connections or manipulation could help her against the power of fate itself. It would be so simple. She already had half of the repayment, Chat Noir would be so easy— for her, he would— he would do anything. He was her partner. They put everything on the line for Parisians every day. For each other.  
  
"No."  
  
"... What?"  
  
"Get your stupid butterfly out of my bag."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Nope. I'm not terrorizing Paris and fighting it's superheroes! Do you think I'm crazy?"  
  
"But—"  
  
"I'm going to put this stuff in the laundry, get some coffee with some cream in it or something, and video calling my friend. I'll be fine. Screw off, Hawk Moth."  
  
Marinette shut her eyes tight and willed his disturbing presence out of her mind, imagining the glowing butterfly outline fading from her face, and the shop bag going back to brown paper. She felt the corruption leave her and opened her eyes to see the akuma drop pathetically out of the bag and onto the floor. She regarded it for a moment.  
  
To hell with it, if she fought off Hawk Moth's power once she could do it again, even if the akuma tried to possess another of her belongings. She stomped on it. It's wings were bent pathetically at angles as it flapped uselessly when she raised her foot. She stomped on it again. Hard. She lost count of how often she stomped on the thing until it was just black legs and bits of wing floating in the gutter water. She huffed and started for home.  
  
Elsewhere, the mechanical cover of a window slowly closed. A figure in a silver mask watched it silently, unmoving. In time, he was left in darkness once again. After a few breaths, he looked around at the fluttering white butterflies. "Do you think I'm losing my touch?"


	2. You Should Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No, thank you."
> 
> "... Really?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Crossposted to Tumblr.](http://booabug.tumblr.com/post/145726375728/you-should-leave)

Empty. If there was any word to describe how Adrien felt in that moment, it was empty. He sat by himself at the end of the catwalk, even the Gorilla gone from his side after he had asked to be left alone. The bodyguard had grunted and was undoubtedly standing just outside the door.  
  
A coping mechanism. The lack of feeling kept him from crying; he would be wracked with sobs otherwise. He hadn't gotten to step foot in school, having been pulled out for the entire day to rehearse for showing his father's new line. A rehearsal father didn't bother to attend, of course. Even his video calls had been limited to talking with coordinators and such. Not once did he speak to his son, even through the tablet. Then again, maybe it was for the best. After all, he could do nothing right that day. He didn't know what he would do if he had his father's reprimanding on his mind on top of just about every other adult's that day.  
  
Absently, Adrien felt the weight in his hands and looked down at the textbook he had thought to do some assigned reading in to get his thoughts off things. He had only opened the cover and stared down at a blank white page. There was a doodle of a cat there. He supposed he had done that at some point, he didn't remember. It wasn't very good. He just hoped he didn't screw up somehow with his Lady. Harsh words or disappointed looks from her would bludgeon him deeper than any other's.  
  
Listless as he was, he didn't register the akuma entering his textbook until it turned black, only broken up by purple swirls. Just before it was engulfed, he swore the cat doodle took on a mean glare.  
  
The dam broke.  
  
He felt every shred of self-loathing, the frustration at his isolation and lack of control of his own life in an instant.  
  
"Chat Blanc, I am Hawk Moth," a voice said smoothly, with the gentle but firm persuasion of any good powerbroker. "It seems everyone struts down the catwalk away from you, leaving you draped in their disappointment. You don't have to be lonely anymore, I am with you. I can give you the power to tailor every person to your needs— they will flock to you in appreciation and give you all you want. All I ask in return is that you give me Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous."  
  
Adrien would never have to be alone again. All his hard work would be acknowledged, and they would help him with whatever he wanted. Maybe Adrien couldn't change a thing, but with people under his control— no, no, he didn't want to control anyone. He wouldn't put anyone else through that. He didn't want company or praise as hollow as what he was forced to show all the time... No, not all the time. Maybe he had to suppress his more Chat mannerisms, but he didn't have to act like he enjoyed himself at school.  
  
He had friends. Nino who supported him no matter what and laughed _with_ him at his mistakes. The rest of his classmates, not as close but all good natured. They invited him to every group activity, made him feel welcome. Alya who, even just sitting behind him, exuded infectious enthusiasm. There was Marinette who had forgiven him so quickly when by all appearances, he was acting just as much the bully as Chloé. She welcomed him into her home, trusted in his abilities for something as important to her as connecting with Sifu Cheng. Then there was Ladybug. His Lady who implicitly trusted him with everything. Chat Noir, Adrien, would never betray that trust.  
  
"No, thank you."  
  
"... Really?"  
  
"I don't want your offer."  
  
"Are- Are you sure? This is a once in a lifetime de-"  
  
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I won't change my mind. You're wasting both our time. You should leave. I'm very busy, and I only have a little free time, which I'd like to spend with my best friend."  
  
With that, Adrien got up, turned around, and began to whack his textbook against the surface of the runway. Maybe he could shake the akuma out, he didn't know. The foreign presence withdrew from his mind, making him shudder as tendrils of supernatural negativity seemed to drag. The akuma began to flutter away slowly, as if feeling badly. For a moment, Adrien considered letting it go.  
  
"Nah."  
  
He batted it out of the air, back down to the runway surface and thoroughly pulverized it with his textbook. Once done, he scraped any remnants off the edge of the catwalk with an, "Eugh."  
  
Not even caring anymore, he scrubbed off the rest with some garment or other backstage. Taking out his phone and exiting to join Gorilla again, he called Nino. "Hey, man. Can you hang out? Cool, where do want to meet?"  
  
Somewhere in Paris, in a dark room filled with white butterflies, a man dressed in purple and black leaned on his cane with shoulders slumped. He addressed the room. "I'm going to bed."


End file.
